Are Food Addictions Real?

When it comes to eating and weight issues, I've been very troubled by the terms so many people use to describe themselves. Self-described "chocoholics", "carbohydrate cravers", "sugar addicts", and even "food addicts" are all looking for answers. Are these food addictions real? What do you think? I'd like to hear your story, and feelings about this controversial topic. Check out some of my thoughts on the concept of "food addictions", and suggestions for managing these trigger foods.

Actually, in a way, we are all food addicts. Eating is not an optional choice, and there is no total abstinence. We MUST eat for survival, so the view of food addictions cannot be thought of in the same way as that of drugs, or alcohol, or nicotine. Think of what happens when we don't eat - growling stomach, headache, dizziness - all symptoms of food deprivation. But when we think of food cravings, it's for a particular kind of food. If we were physically hungry, any food would do!

Pleasure centers in our brains are stimulated by many pleasant activities - this is normal biology. Whether it's food, or being in love, or exercise, or sex, or the getitng some sun, brain neurochemicals (like dopamine and serotonin, among others) are activated. Drugs of abuse, like cocaine also activate these brain chemicals, but in a damaging, destructive way, which creates a physical dependence and withdrawal symptoms when the drug is removed. So, many of our food struggles, which they might seem biological are not related to true hunger and fullness for survival, but, are based on a behavioral dependence, not a physical one, and we must learn to accept that we do have control over these behaviors and can learn to manage them.

There are so many "trigger" foods, which are different for everyone, that promote that uncomfortable sense known as a "loss of control". There are 5 important steps in managing food cravings and maintaining some control.

(1) Identify the problem foods
(2) Determine whether portion control or substitution with another food will be effective to satisfy but not trigger overating
(3) Eliminate specific foods (not whole categories!) that trigger rather than satisfy
(4) Avoid settings (restaurants and at home) that trigger overeating.
(5) Substitute another behavior for the act of eating - learn to knit or chew sugarless gum

Here are three major categories where people struggle the most::

(1) SWEET TOOTH
-sugar only (gummy bears, licorice, soda)
- sugar fat combinations (chocolate, cakes, cookies, ice cream)

(2) FAT TOOTH
- creamy mouth-feel (cheese, mayonnaise, sauces, ice cream)
- crunchy/chewy, salty (chips, french fries, fried chicken, hamburgers, bacon)

(3) STARCHY CARBOHYDRATES
- bread and pasta
- rice, potatoes, cereals

There are no "right" answers for everyone. This is truly a personal choice, and some are the best solutions are found by trial and error. What works for you might not work for someone else. So, be open-minded but realistic in your quest to conquer food cravings. It can be done....you CAN regain control.

Check out a few more suggestions that have worked for my patients, and me (the pistacio nut Queen!). I'd love to hear some of your solutions.

For a SWEET tooth.....
- sugar free gum and mints - try cinnamon or peppermint (strong flavors stimulate your taste buds!)
- sugar free jello and popsicles
- 60 calorie jello pudding pack (chocolate or caramel)
- low-cal (25 cal) hot chocolate

Don't like the low-calorie sweeteners? Try these: single-wrapped peppermint life savers, peppermint tic-tacs, altoids, dum-dum lolly-pops, mini-tootsie roll pops, chocolate-covered altoids

For a FAT Tooth....
- single-serve bag of baked chips
- bag of carrots
- bag of pre-washed salad (eaten right out of the bag)
- 100 cal pack of plain pretzels, chips, or popcorn
- Laughing Cow light cheese wedge
- Mini Bon Bel Light cheese (mini-wax serving)
- Non-fat or low-fat yogurt - look for extra creamy (Yoplait or Dannon)
- Turkey Pepperoni (1 serving)
- Ballpark White Meat Turkey Hotdogs

For the CARB-LOVERS...
-Whole wheat, thin sliced bread - under 50 cal/slice
- 50 calorie whole wheat tortillas (La Tortilla Factory come in several flavors)
-100% Whole Wheat Matzoh (one sheet)
-Mini-pita bread (70 cal)
- 1/2 cup couscous
- 1 cup Special K High Protein
- 1 cup Barbara's Puffins (regular or cinnamon)

These lists could go on and on.....but I hope this gives you a jump-start to keep working on this really tough aspect of healthy eating and weight management.

Comments

At Giant Eagle today I found sugarless Bazooka soft bubble gum. It does have 20 calories for one piece but stays flavorful for a long time. It tastes very good.

There is definitely a disease called food addiction. As a food addict myself, I can recommend some very powerful books that tell the story and give the science behind food addiction. Kay Sheppard's Food Addiction: The Body Knows, and From the First Bite, are great resources and there are several 12 step groups that provide support for food addicts (as opposed to the groups that support "compulsive overeaters"). Food addiction is real. I am living proof.

Cool - the Today Show is talking about food and addiction. It's a real & progressive disease. Eating is normal, some can't "control" the eating. Many find abstinence from addictive substances (flour and sugar) reduces and eliminates the cravings. Not everyone is a food addict - many eat normally. Some can "control" their intake. Others at some point lose the ability to "control" and, like addiction to other substances (alcohol, drugs, sex, etc.) life becomes unmanageable with food. The food addict can't stop thinking about food, acting on getting food, or eating food. The ability to be selective about food choices becomes about "feeding" the overwhelming need to "drug" oneself with whatever is available. A "high" is attained creating short term relief and calm, then the pattern starts over again. I know this personally - I "controlled" food until age 49 with constant weight change, lost all ability to stop, my weight soared, health deteriorated. I no longer eat flour/sugar x 4years, weight/health stable. Phew

I find the comments made by Dr. Fernstrom to be inaccurate and at best, disarming. To dismiss food addiction as something controllable by self will alone is beyond comprehension. It took years of compulsive eating, overeating, undereating, and all forms of food abuse in between to make me realize that my problems wouldn't be solved by the very many diet clubs, books and pills that I used to try/take. I didn't understand that I had a disease-an addiction (not only a behavioral addiction, but a mental one too)-until I walked into a 12 Step door to recovery. Are food additions "real?" I can confirm that once you've eaten yourself sick and still want more food, that when you've realized that you're eating food out of the garbage for no seeming reason, and are ritualistically foraging for food in the middle of the night for that last binge, that yes, food addition is as real as any alcohol,drug,or gambling addition is. And just as devasting,if not more,since we all MUST eat food everyday, as succinctly stated above.

It is very obvious that you know nothing about food addition. Moreover, it seems to me you know very little about addition of any sort. All of the information is clinical and textbook. What about the real people dealing with and living with food addition every day.

Well, at least we have something in common. I am just as disturbed that a doctor would doubt the existence of food addiction as you are with the use of words like chocoholic. The fact that we must eat only makes food a more difficult addiction than, say, cocaine. It certainly doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. When I was mired in my addiction, I was okay as long as I wasn't eating but, once I took that first bite, I had no control over when the binge would end. Sounds like a binge drinker, doesn't it? Bottom line, if you've never been addicted to food, you can't comprehend the humiliation or devastation it causes and those of us who have don't talk about it. If you are defining an addict as someone who eats too much and is overweight, then I can see your confusion. An addict eats enormous amounts of food, will eat food out of the trash, food that is spoiled, food that is uncooked, food that is not usually eaten alone (think a jar of mayo), will eat to the point of nausea, wait until it passes and begin again.

I've recently discovered baked soy protein chips to help w/ my salty-crunchy cravings. A single-serve bag has
l05 cal., 3g fat, 13 carbs, & 7g protein. Flavors like Salsa Sass & BBQ
Bliss add enough flavor to satisfy.
RivalSoy.com.

Thank you so much to all the other fellow food addicts who have posted coments on this article. I posted earlier and just came back to check and see if anyone else had had the same reaction to the story that I did.Once again,I am relieved to know that I am not alone.That is the way I felt when I entered the 12 Step rooms for food addiction. Finally, others who believe they can be addicted to sugar/flour/wheat and WANT to be abstinent from them and LIVE that way. The binging, the obsession with food ALL THE TIME, the planning, getting, hiding, eating, replacing, thinking about and recovering from the enormous amounts of food I consumed daily was not living. On top of that, all the attempts for all the years to control my eating and nothing worked-until I got the CORRECT INFORMATION about food ADDICTION.See my post earlier.Read the books I suggested.If the nutritionist whose blog this is is reading these posts, educate yourself then put energy into educating the other food addicts out there who are still suffering

I myself am addicted to ice cream, cookies and night binging, once I start any of these all bets are off. You can call it what you want. But I can't have one bite.

I am a food addict. As a child, I ate dry dog food from the bag. It didn't taste good, but I ate it anyway. I've stolen food, eaten out of the garbage, and stuffed myself to the point of physical pain and exhaustion. I have humiliated myself overeating many times. There isn't anything you can say about drug or alcohol addiction that I can't relate to food. It is mind altering. It does effect and is effected by your body chemistry. It can consume your thoughts and take over your life. It effects your relationships, your health, your goals, your finances, your job performance. I've never done it, but I have had to fight the very strong urge to leave my two small children at home alone at night, so that I could run to the store to buy binge food.I spent 6 years in a 12 step program, have been on every diet imaginable, have seen therapists and doctors, taken pills...you name it. I had gastric bypass surgery and lost 110 lb.s but I still can't control my food addiction.

i completely agree that food addiction is real. I myself have been through it. At 135 lbs and 15 yrs old i thought i was overweight. It was then that i began dieting to drop the five or six extra lbs that i had gained from puberty. It was also during this time that i begame food obsessed, and anorexic. Once down to 95 lbs i knew (as well as the doctors) that i needed to gain weight. unfortunately, the only time i would convince myself to eat was when i would binge late at night. this became a habit for about a year until i eventually gained all my weight back. Granted bein 5'5 and 135 lbs is not overweight by any means but i found myself uncomfortable and still a binge eater. It took another year to get over my second eating disorder,this one harder than the first. I am thankful to have found the gym to be my new obsession & i have put my eating disorders in the closet i kno they'll never fully disappear but i want to let everyone know that w/ the right help and motivation you can overcome it..slowly..but surely

I am not over wieght but I have picked up 10 pounds due to overwhleming cravings for sugar and texture, (i love cake, pie cookies) and I find myself unable to stop, the only thing i can do is eat jellopudding snacks and oreder slices of pie and cake so I can only have one portion like every week, but I eat also when I am bored, ao just to stay slim I have to stay busy. The wierd thing is I am not an emotional eater, I only care to eat when I have nothing else to do, it is getting to be too much.

Are you a doctor? In addition, if so, what type of doctor? Did you go to an accredited US school? Food Addiction is documented as well as alcohol addiction. Both an addiction of the body and the mind.

I have an addiction to chewy foods... gummy bears, gummy worms, real licorice, etc..... anyone have any healthy alternatives for chewy foods? I've looked all over for healthy alternatives to THAT particular "craving".... there's healthy foods for crunchy cravings, salty cravings, etc.... but I haven't really come across healthy chewy foods. You can only eat so many raisins before they aren't really healthy anymore b/c you've eaten the whole bag.....

very disturbed by the post myself. It oversimplifies the issue. Food Addiction is very real!

In your 5 Steps you forgot to mention learning to deal with emotions, dysfunctional thought patterns, low-self esteem, disatisfaction with life, relationships, or oneself and other "triggers" that cause people to turn to all types of preferred food as a coping mechanism. Certain foods do the trick of blotting out painful emotions and trains of thought better than others. Changing the food doesn't change the behavior long-term or address the reasons for abusing it. Staying away from foods associated with binge behavior is one minor step, not the solution. For some actual advice that might work, try "Binge No More: A guide to overcoming disordered eating" by Joyce Nash, PH.D.

Really? All of you are food addicts? None of you just has a willpower issue?

Here's a simple quiz on the matter, revising my local paper's headline to suit the alleged situation: Would you sell your child for a sandwich? Take a moment to reflect: Would you hand over your daughter to a perverted restauranteur for your "fix?"

Would you?

If you would, then yeah, I'll buy that you are an addict, no futher questions asked. But if not, you might reconsider your claim.

I know I was "addicted" to salt. A very smart health educator thought that perhaps I was lacking in minerals that are naturally found in unrefined natural Celtic Sea Salt or sea vegetables. Minerals such as magnesium and potassium. I was over salting everything, eating crappy salty foods trying to replace the minerals I wasn't getting. Guess what? She was right and the vicious salt cycle was broken once we fixed that deficency. Sometimes, what we call an "addiction" is perhaps our bodies telling us it needs something we aren't providing.

It is very disturbing that a person thinks you have to sell your child to prove you are an addict. So alcoholics, cigarette smokers, etc.. sell their children for a "fix"? No, all the ones I have dealt with would never fall that low, but there is still an addiction. It is disheartening to know uneducated people with no science training place their UNEDUCATED views out their as a way to attack someone because they do not believe in something. I have seen food addicts first hand, it is an addiction. If your brain and body tell you, that you desperately need something when you don't and you have mental anguish over that item, ytou are addicted. I just wish people would stop being so judgemental and hardheaded. To all of you with a food addiction, I hope you get help.

I'm totally addicted to regular V-8 juice which is loaded with sodium
and is causing other problems.....
ankle swelling and fluid retention
plus osteoporosis because of excessive
salt.
No other substitute solves this
craving....and I really believe there is something in V-8 that my body
needs...
V-8 is my morning boost & It soothes anxiety for me.
I had a terrible time on a vacation in Spain last year when I couldn't find any
anywhere there.

SWW, try the Whole Foods brand vegetable juice (low sodium), it is really good and after a glass or two you will find the taste more refreshing and satisfying than V-8. I love vegetable juice, and love an dextra kick in my food too... try some grate horseradish mixed with your veg. juice (check the bottles for salt, or use freshly grated horseradish instead.) Bothouse Farms has a good veggie juice as well, but again check the label for the salt content! I keep a bottle of V-8 with me for hunger emergencies, but also keep a bottle of water around to help dilute the amount of salt in stomach. I don't know if this helps or not, but I hope that you find something that helps with your cravings!

I meant to say grated horseradish, sorry!

To me it sounds like every person above (who claims to be a food addict) is missing the point that no one is predisposed to food addiction at birth, like many other addictions that may be induced by pregnant mothers who abuse substances during their trimesters. As children we grow to familizarize ourselves with tastes and textures and from there find ones that we like in particular. I would be very surprised to see anyone who is at a normal weight, with a BMI or less than 25 that is, with a true food addiction. We all crave foods, but its just whether we give into these cravings. As a recovering bulimic, I battled binge eating for many many years, but would never classify my OVEREATING as a food addiction. Just because you want one more donut doesn't mean you are addicted to them. Self control is really at the root of this food addiction issue.

My experience is that self-control AND a drug-like physical addiction are factors, as a result of malnutrition. You don't have to see your ribs in order to be malnoursihed...we all have been to some degree, since our foods do not give us what we truly need as perfect fuel. My family and I have been greatly helped by Real FoodTM LIVE, nutrient-dense food supplements from NutriHarmony. For example, Lean Maximizer and a high-quality Whey protein source allowed me to kick my sugar addiction...I can still choose sugary things, but they no longer "call my name" every night. It's great to be able to choose and not feel compelled. The cleaner the body gets, the less we actually WANT to eat crap. We feel so much more natural energy, have blood sugars under control, and have also built immunity to the point of not needing asthma medications anymore. I have turned many on to NutriHarmony, and they thank me for it. Read about the Real Food Process at www.nutriharmony.com/Lisa and try it, with a money-back guarantee.

Hi Dr. Fernstrom:

I also blog about struggling with food and have found working with clients and my own experiences that substituting foods for other foods is deadly.

What I find was the first thing to do is find ways that you can start liking yourself. When a person starts liking themselves they usually make a commitment to eat healthy.

I would love to discuss this topic further with you and the people who left comments on your blog. What I would like to do is build a community where we can help each other find our own solutions for losing weight. Helen

hi fatties, he asked for a healthy alternative to chewy sugary foods and you all start ranting about uncontrollable eating and being big and fat. it is this simple- if your a fatty eat less, walk to the kitchen and make dinner instead of calling pizza hut, stop looking at next doors poultry and imaging them in your stomach with a sidding of fries, do some exersise

I have been trying to read up about addictions, food and nutrition. How does nutrition play into this addiction. The article here claims stuff like "Nutrition is the science of diet and health, and having good nutritional habits is important for everyone. Unfortunately, substance abuse and poor nutrition often go hand-in-hand, with one exacerbating the other."
Any comments on this. More info at The Importance of Nutrition in Addiction and Recovery

Thanks.

Dave

I have been trying to read up about addictions, food and nutrition. How does nutrition play into this addiction. The article here claims stuff like "Nutrition is the science of diet and health, and having good nutritional habits is important for everyone. Unfortunately, substance abuse and poor nutrition often go hand-in-hand, with one exacerbating the other."
Any comments on this. More info at http://www.myaddiction.com/education/articles/nutrition.html

Comming from a home that was poor and of course to many people to feed , we children would scanvange around the house to find anything to stop our hunger pains , many times not the right things but we were only kids . As an adult not knowing the right way to eat would buy the wrong kinds of foods and still finding myself eating all the wrong foods began my fight of gaining to much wieght , To top it off living in a home where men control and often gone leaving alone for hours began depression, and more overeating . I believe sugars and flours do trigger the urge to eat more , but now you have emotional issues and overeating habits to conquaer . I keep trying everyday to make a plan of not only what i want to do for my day but what i have eatin and drank for the day ,trying to keep on track .Dont get me wrong i fail and fail often , but food is an addiction , but one we can win. Every second is a nother second to start over and live healthy .....Good luck to all of you

To find out if you are a food addict, try to answer these few questions:
1. do you eat when you are not hungry or when you feel down and depressed?
2. if you do not eat your "favorite" food, do you feel more depressed?
3. if you know those foods are harmful to your health but you eat them anyway?
4. do you feel guilty after eating?

If you answered yes to the above questions then you are most likely addicted to food.

---------------------------------
Cinno

This is a comprehensive addiction portal focusing on topics of alcohol and drug abuse.
http://www.alcoholaddiction.org